Erotic Sunday: Beyond the Purple Prose; Writing that make you cringe.

When I started writing decades ago, I found myself writing steamy scene into my stories. It felt natural for me to include them, but I was horrified when I was told these scene were too mechanical and stiff (no pun intended). Sad thing was, when I re-read it, I agreed. That’s when I decided maybe I should think seriously about getting it right.

Love scenes are supposed to flow seamlessly and envelope the reader in the passion the characters are feeling. We ebb and flow with their feelings; experiencing their highs and lows, but sometimes, for one reason or another, a story fails sweep us into ecstasy and we’re pulled from the arms of our characters by something like this;

“He began to massage her with a kind of dry pumping action, which reminded her of someone blowing up a lilo” [For the record, I have no idea what a lilo is]

“Her weasel-like loins clutching and unclutching his lovely, long, louche manhood, as though squeezing an orange for its juice…” [I’ve heard it called a lot of things, but a weasel?]

See more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/bad-sex-aawards_n_2199706.html

Cringing yet?

Did you note the page I found that on? The Bad Sex Awards. Seriously! Horribly written love scenes have become so rampant in they’re giving out AWARDS! There are even groups on places like Goodreads dedicated to cringe-worthy material.

Why is this happening? I found a site that helps to explain. As the author states, “Cringe worthy scenes almost always come from a writer that fumbles with words because of a basic misunderstanding about how sex scenes should be constructed, or those with a shame about writing what they are writing.”

http://writeworld.tumblr.com/sexscenetips

I write erotic scenes now, not only because they need to be in there, but to prove that they can be done properly. I don’t claim to be good at it, I’m still learning, and I make a promise to you to NEVER write a cringe-worthy scene.

Sensual Sunday: It’s all in the delivery.

So you want to write erotica. Well, I hope you have the stamina. I’m talking about the delivery, the prose, in plain English—the words.

Words have power. A good wordsmith can write things that can move you to tears, make you angry, or make you laugh. Writing erotica isn’t any different, but people think because it’s sex you can just write it down and that’s fine.

Really? Do you know they have awards for bad sex scenes?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/badsexaward

Do you really want to find yourself nominated for this kind of award? No. I didn’t think so.

Like a horror story, erotica must make the reader feel something. Like a romance, it must be organic (not forced), and like any story, it must be told in such a fluid way that the prose does not pull the reader out of the moment.

The link below will take you to a site with a list of words to help expand your erotic vocabulary.

http://www.darkerotica.net/EroticThesaurus.html 

Erotic Sunday; Has erotica gone mainstream?

I don’t think there’s a person on the planet (at least in the Western Hemisphere) who hasn’t heard in one way or another, about 50 Shades of Grey. While some consider it erotica, others don’t and I’m not about to argue its merits on it either way. Whether you like the book or not, the one thing you can’t deny, is that it brought the erotic genre out of the closet, so to speak.

For years, erotica was the forbidden genre, dominated by anonymous writers who did not want the accolades for fear of a backlash by a society that saw it as immoral and depraved. There is no doubt that people read erotica and that they always have, but it’s always been a secret sort of thing; like watching porn. You do it, but just don’t tell the neighbours.

Yet like its visual counterpart, erotica has become incredibly popular. People are admitting they not only read it, but enjoy reading it as well. Erotic writers are making themselves known and more books are including a steamier side to their love scenes.

Is this all because of one series?

In my opinion; no. As society relaxes on the old sexual taboos, I think it was bound to occur. If you know me, then you know what I think of the books, but I give credit where it’s due. The fact that 50 Shades was the catalyst will be its only contribution to the genre. I’m excited now (get your mind out of the gutter) about what will come. With writers feeling comfortable revealing what they write, and having a market with readers who are more than willing to read, I think we are on the verge of a new sexual revolution; an erotic revolution as it were.

Viva la Revolution!

Erotic Sunday: Some titillating facts.

Erotica is a genre I’ve only recently started to write. When I mean recently, I’m talking within the last couple of years. The interest started as a skill challenge for me after a beta stated that my first attempt felt a bit mechanical. With the popularity explosion of FS of G, it got me thinking about the origins of erotica.

Erotic content has been around since the time of the ancient Romans and Greek. It has been a part of literature even during the Medieval and Renaissance periods, where poems and stories were circulated to a limited readership. With the 17th and 18th centuries, it became more public with poems written by Sir Charles Sedley, Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, and George Etherege. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester was a known ‘rake’ and many of the works by these other authors were attributed to him simply because Rochester was better known.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_literature

From the information I read, the church had a great influence over erotica; being the moral guide for the people and in some instances, the fodder for the stories, and yet it survives. Erotica has become more popular within this last century than, I think, in any other period. Why is that? Could it be because the church doesn’t have the influence it did? Or that we as a society are more comfortable with our sexuality than we were?

One thing is for certain; erotica will not be going away any time soon. There’s nothing like a steamy story to get the old heart pumping and put some spice back into our lives. Let’s us know we’re still alive.

Erotic Sunday: Lord Byron

Sounds rather sacrilege, doesn’t it? Talking about sex on a Sunday. Or maybe some of my Catholic husband is rubbing off on me.

In my opinion, one cannot write erotica without paying homage to those who came before us. Considered to be a leading figure in the Romantic Movement of literature during the eighteenth century, Lord Byron was as well known for his scandalous affairs as well as his literature. While his most famous poem ‘SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY’, is sweet and innocent, it was his other work ‘CHILDE HAROLD’S PILGRIMAGE’ that made him really famous as it depicted a young man’s journey across Europe and the many romantic encounters he had. At the time, many thought this succession of poems were autobiographical due to Lord Byron’s reputation. After all, Byron’s sexual appetite was well known to everyone with rumours that he was bi-sexual.

Mild by today’s standards, many passages in CHILDE HAROLD’S PILGRIMAGE were considered to be incredibly erotic. Some people find this hard to believe as the see the Victorian era though the eyes of Jane Austin or the Bronte Sisters, when it was far from the truth, but that’s a topic for another Sunday.

Lord Byron also gave us the Byronic character which has become very popular in modern romantic literature. There are several good definitions, many of which, could be considered characteristics of Lord Byron himself.

An antihero who is a romanticized but wicked character. Conventionally, the figure is a young and attractive male with a bad reputation. He defies authority and conventional morality, and becomes paradoxically ennobled by his peculiar rejection of virtue. The icon of James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause is a good example. Byronic heroes are associated with destructive passions, sometimes selfish brooding or indulgence in personal pains, alienation from their communities, persistent loneliness, intense introspection, and fiery rebellion.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

 

*reference links*

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_b.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Byron

http://englishhistory.net/byron.html